Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
New Brunswick is making changes to disaster financial assistance when it comes to payouts and buyouts. Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said that from 2014 to 2020, disaster assistance payouts in New Brunswick totalled around $335 million. The province is responsible for $76 million of that figure, the rest is covered by the federal government, he said. Speaking at a news conference this week, Austin said changes needed to be made because the government "cannot afford to continue with business as usual" as the frequency and intensity of weather events continues to increase.
